Neptune conjunction Saturn
This aspect occurs approximately once every thirty-six years; during the last century, in 1917, 1952 and 1989. The effects of Saturn have a beneficial influence on the tendencies of Neptune, helping definition, stability and ease of expression; the potential is for practical idealism and an ability for positive application of the ideas and imagination emanating from Neptune. This is useful for creativity, as the inspiration of Neptune can be given adequate form and manifestation by the concrete tendencies of Saturn, and so the imagination is not left swirling in an inner world of dreams and fancies but is released onto the physical plane to be shared with others. There is less of the delusive nature of Neptune present with this aspect, and there should be a greater perceptive clarity than usual, one that is especially sensitive to issues of deceit and glamour. You are less prone to make mistakes through such reflective blindness, and tend to be self-protective mainly by a careful and wary distancing that you maintain with strangers or new acquaintances. This is part of the Saturn contribution of caution and unease with anything that is unknown. Trust needs to be progressively developed in you, whether in people, circumstances or situations; and you are usually reticient in making any firm commitments until you have thoroughly evaluated any set of choices. You tend to rely on a faith in facts, and impersonal judging of what seems to be the wisest choice to make; this can be beneficial in your life, privately and in a career. It is probable that the Saturn energy will be the dominant one, with the Neptune energy occasionally repressed for practical reasons. If you allow Saturn to be too emphasised, then opportunities may be lost through excessive evaluation and lack of decisiveness; that fear of the unknown will also act as a restrictive and inhibiting factor. You are likely to erect a well-defined lifestyle and personality structure which allows relatively little space for the Neptunian influence to be expressed, as it is more anarchic and expansionary. What can occur is a sense of confusion regarding your own personal limitations, where they begin to feel imprisoning and Neptune agitates to dissove those barriers and to experience those repressed dreams that you are attempting to ignore. A careful balancing of both these planetary energies is essential, both for inner harmony and for external success. Otherwise, degrees of distortion and lack of perspective will increase, as the Neptune influence demonstrates its repressed presence through more negative characteristics. For those exploring the spiritual dimension of life, this aspect offers several valuable assets, in that there is a questioning of dogma and assumptions, a tendency to deglamorise through a more earthy perspective, and a developing ability to rely on the inner guidance of intuition rather than on external 'authority sources'. This stage may have been reached as lessons learnt through earlier phases of gullibility and submission to teachers, possibly through religious or parental conditioning which you begin to cast away as inimical to your own development. Discrimination is important in life, and especially so when contacting occult teachings, where the likelihood is that through a lack of real personal experience only genuine ignorance exists; and the tendency of most is to fill that void by passively accepting whatever teaching is making an impact on them. As you continue to develop, especially through standing alone and living through your own light, a greater maturity and perception will unfold. Insight and compassion founded on living experience will be gained, and if you practise meditational techniques then your own power and light is likely to shine brighter as your inner clarity emerges. Effective concentration and meditation should be possible, and some signs of psychic abilities may also emerge from the Neptune energy being released. You may become a channel for the transpersonal energies to enter these levels, and there will be a sense of social responsibility and of the context through which they can operate. Your intimate relationships are likely to be deep and enriching, partly as a result of your careful evaluation of suitable partners; and in those relationships where your heart becomes involved you will tend to be cautious before openting to a full commitment. Relationships are important to you, and you place great emphasis on continually working at them to ensure that they are mutually beneficial and a source of evolutionary growth. You believe that 'right choice leads to right action'; and this is a key to your success and to your procedure of careful evaluation of options and decisions.